'Our Role Misrepresented': BookMyShow Clarifies After Kunal Kamra's Open Letter

BookMyShow's role is to provide a platform for ticket sales of live shows and it is the decision of the organiser or the venue to list or delist their show, the company responded to stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra on Monday.

Earlier in the day, Kamra wrote an open letter to BookMyShow requesting the online ticketing platform to either not delist him or to hand over the contact information of audience members he has earned through his solo shows over the years.

BookMyshow, in a post on social media platform X, said it is a platform to facilitate the sale of tickets and operate the business with neutrality and in compliance with the applicable laws of India. "Facts on our role have been misrepresented in the public domain," the online ticketing platform highlighted in its tweet.

"The content of each performance is solely at the discretion of the performer or the organiser (as the case may be) and does not bear any representation of our views. We work with all venues and promoters on mutually agreed upon commercials to provide our ticketing service, as would be the case with any business," it said.

"We do not restrict any artist from selling their show on their own website , should they choose to do so," he added.

The letter, which Kamra shared on his X page, comes days after Shiv Sena claimed BookMyShow had taken Kamra off the sale and artists list from its platform amid ongoing controversy around his show in Mumbai in January, which was released by the comedian on his YouTube channel in March.

Kamra, in his open letter, had stated: "Dear BookMyShow, I understand that you need to maintain a cordial relationship with the state, and I know that Mumbai is a major hub for live entertainment. Without the state's cooperation, iconic shows like Coldplay and Guns N' Roses wouldn't be possible."

"I request one of the following: Do not delist me, or provide me with the data (contact information) I've generated through your platform from my audience," Kamra said in his two-page letter.

In his tweet, the comedian also addressed his audiences calling for a boycott of the platform over the news of Kamra being delisted as an artist. He said he was "not a fan of boycotts or down rating a private business".